Auburn Riverside High School announced on April 25 that Heidi Hillis is making her return to the school to take over as the head coach for volleyball.
Hillis, a 2009 graduate of Riverside, relished the opportunity to come back and coach at her alma mater.
“It’s very meaningful and significant. This community has given me so much. I have life-long friendships and relationships that have come from this school and volleyball program. I never looked into taking over any other program or coaching anywhere else. This place is home and somewhere I always wanted to come back to,” Hillis said.
Her volleyball journey took her to Bellevue College where she played for two seasons. Hillis has been coaching at the club level and was the JV coach at Franklin Pierce following her playing days. She even was the c-team coach at Riverside for one year in 2019.
She took off the Covid year and came back as an assistant in 2021 and 2022. She then took time off as she was raising her own young family, and now is back in the fold of Ravens volleyball.
“The timing was perfect. It’s always been my dream to come back to this school and coach this program someday. It’s a full circle moment for me,” Hillis said.
Riverside had a rough year in its final season under Mike Tienda, going 8-7, and missed the state tournament for the first time since 2013. But there is a presence that Riverside volleyball has when they step onto the court, and for Hillis, she wants to create an environment that breeds success on and off the court.
“One of the things I talked to administrators is the holistic view. I am hoping to create well-rounded young women who are going to go out in the world and be successful. We are teaching being resilient and overcoming adversity. Being a good teammate and person and a good student, performing in and out of the classroom,” Hillis said.
Auburn Riverside will be in its second season at the 4A level next year. Hillis’ goal is to always improve, and that comes down to her coaching philosophy.
“Something that I believe in is trusting in the process. Knowing that we are working hard in the gym and taking care of what we need to do, the success will come,” Hillis said.
Auburn Riverside has had players play at the college level across the country for the past couple of years. As a former NWAC athlete, Hillis also wants the girls to know there are other routes to take. It doesn’t have to be Division I or bust, but other journeys can get you to that level.
“It’s super important. From my own experience, when I was looking for somewhere to play after high school, I saw girls getting recruited to D1 and D2 schools and I was wondering where I fit in. You can still play competitive volleyball at the NWAC level. I’d love to share my experience with the girls about that and the college recruiting process,” Hillis said.
Auburn Riverside had five seniors on the roster this past season and her focus to get this next senior class ready is to take feedback and really get to know her players.
“I want them to know that I hear them and know what their perspectives are. This summer I want to build that chemistry with them, get in the gym and touch the ball so we can dust those cobwebs off so we can build that rapport and chemistry this summer,” Hillis said.
